The Homeschool Buyer Co-op is a great organization that has helped me save a bundle on curriculum. Co-op discounts range from 20%-90%!
This month the Co-op is giving SmartPoints to members who help spread the word about these great deals. If you haven't joined yet, you'll get 100 SmartPoints just for joining! Once you have joined, you can spread the word too and start building your own SmartPoints balance. When you have enough SmartPoints, you can use them to purchase many of the products available through the Co-op.
Click my link or use the address below to get a complete list of all the available offers organized by subject area:
http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/curriculum/?source=6522
Here's a sampling of what's available:
ALL-IN-ONE:
Switched-On Schoolhouse - Save 12%, Free Shipping, AND Earn SmartPoints
PLATO Learning K-12 Curriculum - Save $50
eTAP K-12 Curriculum - Save 35%
ELECTIVES:
Meet The Masters Art Education - Save 50%
Type To Learn Typing Tutor Software - Save 56%
FOREIGN LANGUAGES:
Rosetta Stone Homeschool - Save up to $100, Free Shipping, and Earn SmartPoints
HISTORY:
Chester Comix - Save 57%
Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips - Save up to 90%
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Explode The Code Online - Save 50%
My Access! Writing Curriculum - Save 50%
MATH:
Aha!Math for Grades 5-8 - Save up to 50%
Destination Math - Save up to 66% (the ultimate Saxon Math online companion)
Thinkwell Video Classroom - Save up to 48%
RESOURCES:
Discovery Education streaming Plus (educational videos!) - Save 45%
SmartDraw Homeschool Edition - Save 60%
SCIENCE:
Adaptive Curriculum - Only $49
Aha!Science for Grades 3-5 - Save up to 67%
PLATO Learning (formerly CyberEd) - Save 63%
TEST/ASSESSMENT:
Kaplan SAT Online Prep - Save 80%
Let's Go Learn - Save 25%
THINKING SKILLS:
BrainWare Safari - Save 68%
And the list goes on!
Have a fantastic school year!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
For Homeschoolers in Richmond VA
Summer is almost half over and most of the curriculum sales are finished. As I am getting my lesson plans together for the Fall, I wanted to give RES and myself a little plug. If you haven't made all your plans for the upcoming school year, then check out Richmond Enrichment Studio. Going on it's 3rd year, there are lots of great classes coming up.
This year, the new High School Academic Core Track will be starting and I'm very excited about it. This is great if you feel deficient in one or more subjects and need someone else to handle the tough subjects for you. If you haven't homeschooled through high school before, this is a great option to ease into it without wrestling over the decision to keep them at home or send them to public school.
Since the program is new, you will find some Level 1 offerings of classes and may be hesitant to enroll your student. Be assured that Level 2 classes will be added in subsequent years as the program continues to grow.
The classes I'll be teaching:
English Grammar & Composition for 9th/10th graders (there is a companion Literature class being taught by Joyce Rodgers for a TOTAL Language Arts program)
Latin I - I'll teaching from an immersion style for translation and we will be learning what daily living consisted of in the Roman Empire
PreAlgebra I, Algebra I, and Geometry - All using Math U See
Family & Consumer Science - we'll be learning how to live - how to apply for a job, resumes, buying a car, rental agreements, cooking, sewing, decorating, caring for yourself and clothing, caring for young children
Beginning Latin - for Elementary students, a great way for your child to learn grammar and word roots through Latin vocabulary
Intermediate Math - fractions, division, decimals, getting ready for PreAlgebra I
Classes are small, so register now to save your child's spot. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about classes I'm teaching.
This year, the new High School Academic Core Track will be starting and I'm very excited about it. This is great if you feel deficient in one or more subjects and need someone else to handle the tough subjects for you. If you haven't homeschooled through high school before, this is a great option to ease into it without wrestling over the decision to keep them at home or send them to public school.
Since the program is new, you will find some Level 1 offerings of classes and may be hesitant to enroll your student. Be assured that Level 2 classes will be added in subsequent years as the program continues to grow.
The classes I'll be teaching:
English Grammar & Composition for 9th/10th graders (there is a companion Literature class being taught by Joyce Rodgers for a TOTAL Language Arts program)
Latin I - I'll teaching from an immersion style for translation and we will be learning what daily living consisted of in the Roman Empire
PreAlgebra I, Algebra I, and Geometry - All using Math U See
Family & Consumer Science - we'll be learning how to live - how to apply for a job, resumes, buying a car, rental agreements, cooking, sewing, decorating, caring for yourself and clothing, caring for young children
Beginning Latin - for Elementary students, a great way for your child to learn grammar and word roots through Latin vocabulary
Intermediate Math - fractions, division, decimals, getting ready for PreAlgebra I
Classes are small, so register now to save your child's spot. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about classes I'm teaching.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
School starts up again
Really, I shouldn't have let them have that 3rd week off, when they were begging to start school work again. I'm amazed at what was lost in 3 weeks. I can't imagine the damage 12 weeks would do.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Do NOT buy a Gateway Computer EVER!
For the last 9 years, I've owned multiple Dell computers. Mostly because they were recommended to me by co-workers in the IT dept when I was still working. At first, I was greatly impressed with Dell and their customer service department. On my second and third Dell purchases, the computers weren't so great. There were constant lock-ups, peripheral problems, etc. Whatever was covered under warranty was deftly handled by the CS department, but I felt the quality of the computers themselves had gone down.
So, when the time came last year to buy a new computer (the older Dell had finally crapped out for the last time), I decided it was time to change brands. So we decided to give Gateway a try. The computer arrived all gleaming and shiny with it's piercing blue light. It was very exciting. It's worked great until about a month ago. Then it started locking up quite a bit. Yes, I had Anti-Virus/Spyware/etc. on it. I thought we had bought in April 08 and so didn't check on the warranty. It got steadily worse - we tried cleaning, defragging, all the stupid things non-tech people do to salvage what they can without paying for it.
Last Wednesday, I turned it off when I went to bed and Thursday morning it was dead. It wouldn't complete the boot up cycle. Oh, I panicked! I needed my Callidora files and photos badly! Just start up ONE time so I can retrieve my files! Max tried a couple of things from the boot menu but nothing worked. So I pulled out the Recovery disc that came with the computer. You know that one that says, "WARNING: Inserting this disc will erase all your files. Use only to recover your Windows Operating System." So, I put the disc in. It had a Repair function which I tried first, but no - computer cannot be repaired. Then I went to the Install option, and it booted up. Yay! All my files were still there too!
However, the disc had partitioned my hard drive and created a very small C: only big enough to hold the OS files. I could SEE my files, but couldn't use them except for photos. I couldn't access my programs and I couldn't merge the 2 partitions. So I found Gateway's website, looking for support, and low and behold! I had warranty until June 25, 2009! I decided to call right away.
So as not to kill you with the HORRID details, here it is in a nutshell:
I ended up speaking with 6 different reps and a supervisor. The first 4 reps all gave me different solutions totally unrelated to each other. Reps 3 and 4 said that I should have never put that disc in my machine. It was HARMFUL to the computer and they no longer sent it out to customers! I immediately demanded to speak to a supervisor.
Yes, indeed, it's true - THAT DISC IS HARMFUL AND GATEWAY DOESN'T SEND IT OUT ANYMORE! Well, pray, tell me what is Product Registration for than to give you a way to contact your customers in the event you need to recall something. He said, that if I had used that disc in the first 90 days, they would have covered it under my software portion of the warranty. But since I waited until the week before the warranty expired, they could do nothing but offer me the option of backing up my files for $129.95 or receiving a new disc for $19.95.
So, I broke my computer using a disc that was sent with my computer. Gateway knows this disc is harmful and no longer sends the disc out, but hasn't contacted it's previous customers to warn them against using it. Or better yet, with an offer to replace it. I called again to see if there was anyway to fix this after Max spent 4 hours removing my files to another computer. Reps 5 and 6 told me to put this disc into the computer in order to put it back to factory settings. In my shock, I asked if I was supposed to use the disc they acknowledge as harmful to do this. Oh Yes! It's no problem. I asked again 3 times if they really meant for me to use this HARMFUL disc again. Yep, you bet - or however you say that in Punjabi. I said fine and did it. I got an error message.
Oh you need a level 2 tech. Great. Well Steve gets on the line and tells me the error code means my disc is corrupted and he'll sell me a new one. I laughed out loud and said "Did you say SELL me?! NO YOU DID NOT SAY SELL ME!" He said "OH YES I DID SAY 'SELL'!" I asked why I should pay for a disc that I've only used once, is harmful to my computer, and was obviously defective to begin with. Shouldn't the company replace the defective disc. Well, if I had found that out in the first 90 days, they would have replaced it.
I asked if Gateway expects it's brand new computers to crash within the 90 days. Because there is no other reason to use this disc. Oh no, of course a Gateway computer wouldn't falter in the first 90 days. So how am I supposed to know my disc is corrupted in the first 90 days when I have no occasion to use it. Too bad, my problem. I hung up in tears of angry frustration.
That was 2 days ago. I'm writing this now on said computer that has been totally reformatted, wiped clean and reprogrammed with Linux using Ubuntu, Mozilla Firefox, and am using OpenOffice.org for my programs. Microsoft can go to hell with Gateway in the lead.
Do you want to free yourself from the Microsoft matrix? You can, it takes a little effort, but it's all free and when you get everything up and running, it's as familiar as Windows with better programs and no glitches. Start with Ubuntu. Firefox and OpenOffice come with it automatically. You'll need download Flashplayer for Linux once you're up and running, but it's easy. Ubuntu has an unbelievable image editor, accessories, games, music player, burner, sound recorder, and lots of cool stuff.
So DON'T BUY A GATEWAY! Their Customer DISservice Department sucks!
So, when the time came last year to buy a new computer (the older Dell had finally crapped out for the last time), I decided it was time to change brands. So we decided to give Gateway a try. The computer arrived all gleaming and shiny with it's piercing blue light. It was very exciting. It's worked great until about a month ago. Then it started locking up quite a bit. Yes, I had Anti-Virus/Spyware/etc. on it. I thought we had bought in April 08 and so didn't check on the warranty. It got steadily worse - we tried cleaning, defragging, all the stupid things non-tech people do to salvage what they can without paying for it.
Last Wednesday, I turned it off when I went to bed and Thursday morning it was dead. It wouldn't complete the boot up cycle. Oh, I panicked! I needed my Callidora files and photos badly! Just start up ONE time so I can retrieve my files! Max tried a couple of things from the boot menu but nothing worked. So I pulled out the Recovery disc that came with the computer. You know that one that says, "WARNING: Inserting this disc will erase all your files. Use only to recover your Windows Operating System." So, I put the disc in. It had a Repair function which I tried first, but no - computer cannot be repaired. Then I went to the Install option, and it booted up. Yay! All my files were still there too!
However, the disc had partitioned my hard drive and created a very small C: only big enough to hold the OS files. I could SEE my files, but couldn't use them except for photos. I couldn't access my programs and I couldn't merge the 2 partitions. So I found Gateway's website, looking for support, and low and behold! I had warranty until June 25, 2009! I decided to call right away.
So as not to kill you with the HORRID details, here it is in a nutshell:
I ended up speaking with 6 different reps and a supervisor. The first 4 reps all gave me different solutions totally unrelated to each other. Reps 3 and 4 said that I should have never put that disc in my machine. It was HARMFUL to the computer and they no longer sent it out to customers! I immediately demanded to speak to a supervisor.
Yes, indeed, it's true - THAT DISC IS HARMFUL AND GATEWAY DOESN'T SEND IT OUT ANYMORE! Well, pray, tell me what is Product Registration for than to give you a way to contact your customers in the event you need to recall something. He said, that if I had used that disc in the first 90 days, they would have covered it under my software portion of the warranty. But since I waited until the week before the warranty expired, they could do nothing but offer me the option of backing up my files for $129.95 or receiving a new disc for $19.95.
So, I broke my computer using a disc that was sent with my computer. Gateway knows this disc is harmful and no longer sends the disc out, but hasn't contacted it's previous customers to warn them against using it. Or better yet, with an offer to replace it. I called again to see if there was anyway to fix this after Max spent 4 hours removing my files to another computer. Reps 5 and 6 told me to put this disc into the computer in order to put it back to factory settings. In my shock, I asked if I was supposed to use the disc they acknowledge as harmful to do this. Oh Yes! It's no problem. I asked again 3 times if they really meant for me to use this HARMFUL disc again. Yep, you bet - or however you say that in Punjabi. I said fine and did it. I got an error message.
Oh you need a level 2 tech. Great. Well Steve gets on the line and tells me the error code means my disc is corrupted and he'll sell me a new one. I laughed out loud and said "Did you say SELL me?! NO YOU DID NOT SAY SELL ME!" He said "OH YES I DID SAY 'SELL'!" I asked why I should pay for a disc that I've only used once, is harmful to my computer, and was obviously defective to begin with. Shouldn't the company replace the defective disc. Well, if I had found that out in the first 90 days, they would have replaced it.
I asked if Gateway expects it's brand new computers to crash within the 90 days. Because there is no other reason to use this disc. Oh no, of course a Gateway computer wouldn't falter in the first 90 days. So how am I supposed to know my disc is corrupted in the first 90 days when I have no occasion to use it. Too bad, my problem. I hung up in tears of angry frustration.
That was 2 days ago. I'm writing this now on said computer that has been totally reformatted, wiped clean and reprogrammed with Linux using Ubuntu, Mozilla Firefox, and am using OpenOffice.org for my programs. Microsoft can go to hell with Gateway in the lead.
Do you want to free yourself from the Microsoft matrix? You can, it takes a little effort, but it's all free and when you get everything up and running, it's as familiar as Windows with better programs and no glitches. Start with Ubuntu. Firefox and OpenOffice come with it automatically. You'll need download Flashplayer for Linux once you're up and running, but it's easy. Ubuntu has an unbelievable image editor, accessories, games, music player, burner, sound recorder, and lots of cool stuff.
So DON'T BUY A GATEWAY! Their Customer DISservice Department sucks!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Break is almost over :(
Well, we took a 3 week break from school work from the middle of May until now. The kids were begging and whining about how school was dragging on. I was tired and frustrated, trying to get them to focus was impossible. That's the nice thing about homeschooling - you just take a break when you've all had enough! They kept telling me 3 weeks wasn't going to be long enough. I said, "oh no! You'll get bored, trust me." "No we won't! We're sick of studying. The weather's nice. We wanna play for 6 weeks."
Yeah, right. I stopped arguing. Last Friday, the end of the 2nd week, Ronan pulls out his math book and says, "Can we do Math now?" I said NO and told him to put the book back. I reminded him that we still had a week of break left. He whined. Yes, he did. We argued about him not getting to do his math. Hahaha, can you believe it?! This past Monday, I had the exact same argument/conversation with Miranda. SHE wanted to do math and was complaining of boredom! I reminded her about wanting 6 weeks off - she groaned. I said, "it's okay honey, only one more week of break. Aren't you glad it was only 3 weeks?" She actually said yes.
Blaise turned 12 on the 29th. He WOULD be happy with a 6 week break, but his laziness is driving me crazy. Max, of course, only had 2 weeks because he's taking an 8 week PreCalc class this summer.
So Monday, we start again. But I'm excited! New subjects, eager children, fresh workbooks. I love homeschooling :)
Yeah, right. I stopped arguing. Last Friday, the end of the 2nd week, Ronan pulls out his math book and says, "Can we do Math now?" I said NO and told him to put the book back. I reminded him that we still had a week of break left. He whined. Yes, he did. We argued about him not getting to do his math. Hahaha, can you believe it?! This past Monday, I had the exact same argument/conversation with Miranda. SHE wanted to do math and was complaining of boredom! I reminded her about wanting 6 weeks off - she groaned. I said, "it's okay honey, only one more week of break. Aren't you glad it was only 3 weeks?" She actually said yes.
Blaise turned 12 on the 29th. He WOULD be happy with a 6 week break, but his laziness is driving me crazy. Max, of course, only had 2 weeks because he's taking an 8 week PreCalc class this summer.
So Monday, we start again. But I'm excited! New subjects, eager children, fresh workbooks. I love homeschooling :)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Proud Mama
Here it is, the official senior year portrait! Max has officially finished senior year of high school and first year of college at the same time. How I love concurrent enrollment at the community college! He has done quite well, finishing with a 3.765 GPA this year, taking English, History, Algebra 2, Chemistry and Physics. He'll be taking PreCalculus this summer and is starting his college search for a 4 year university to transfer into.
He also got his driving learner's permit about a month ago and I have to say that I love being chauffeured around :) The stick shift lessons are going - um, smoothly. Automatic, of course, is much easier, but you know how important it is to know both.
The three other kiddies are on early summer break right now. We'll be starting up our homeschooling again in June with another short break in the Fall. Why waste all that heat on sweating outside when we can sweat inside over difficult concepts :)
He also got his driving learner's permit about a month ago and I have to say that I love being chauffeured around :) The stick shift lessons are going - um, smoothly. Automatic, of course, is much easier, but you know how important it is to know both.
The three other kiddies are on early summer break right now. We'll be starting up our homeschooling again in June with another short break in the Fall. Why waste all that heat on sweating outside when we can sweat inside over difficult concepts :)
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